Indiana Women's Basketball Star Chloe Moore-McNeil Takes Shot at Purdue Fans: 'They're Basically Trolls'

Indiana's Chloe Moore-McNeil may have poured some gasoline onto the rivalry with Purdue in a recent podcast appearance. The senior referred to Boilermaker fans as "trolls," saying it provides extra motivation for the rivalry game.

Dustin Schutte | May 13, 2024

Indiana's Chloe Moore-McNeil passes during practice day for the women's NCAA tournament at Simon / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY

The rivalry Purdue and Indiana doesn't need any kindling. There's a hatred that runs deep in the country's best basketball state. But Hoosiers women's basketball star Chloe Moore-McNeil might've poured some gasoline on the burning fire.

In an interview with the Hoosier Hysterics podcast, Moore-McNeil was asked about her first experience playing against the Boilermakers. A native of Tennessee, the senior said she learned about the rivalry early in her career at Indiana.

"The Purdue rivalry was brought to me in a bunch of different ways," she said. "Nice ways, mean ways, aggressive ways — that rivalry was very thorough to me before our first game against them."

Moore-McNeil has had a lot of success against Purdue during her time in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have won 10 straight games against the Boilermakers. In Moore-McNeil's time, IU is 8-0.

While Moore-McNeil acknowledged that every opponent is rival in some capacity, she says the Purdue game carries a little more weight. In particular, she's not overly impressed with the Boilermaker fans.

"Any opponent I go up against, I don't consider them as a friend. So, Purdue is not only not our friend but this is like a hardcore enemy. Purdue's a no-no. None of that," she said.

"It helps a lot when all of their fans — I'm sorry, they're basically trolls. It's like extra motivation."

Purdue is coming off a tough year, finishing with a 15-19 record. The Boilers did reach the Great 8 round of the WNIT. Indiana, on the other hand, finished with a 26-6 mark and hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers fell to South Carolina — the eventual national champions — in the Sweet 16.

Moore-McNeil was a major contributor for the Hoosiers, averaging 10.2 points, 5.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. She also shot better than 40% from behind the 3-point line.

Indiana has dominated the rivalry series recently, but Moore-McNeil's comments might provide a touch more motivation for coach Katie Gearlds and the Boilermakers heading into next season.

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